Julius Jaffe: The Analects (5) [by Mitch Sisskind]

RABBI RABINOWITZ

Julius Jaffe approached Rabbi Rabinowitz.

He said, "I will marry Esther Tabachnik.

I am 118 years old."

Rabbi Rabinowitz said, "'Today I have

begotten you.' (Psalms 2:7) On certain

days -- every day, really, but also on

certain days -- it is as if we are born

anew. Our sins (feh) are not just

forgotten but it is as if they never

existed in the first place."

He continued, "'Be fruitful and

multiply.' (Bereshis 1:28) This is

the first commandment in the

Torah, which all these years

you have not obeyed (feh.)

He went on, "When we will stand

before the Heavenly Tribunal we

will be judged less for the sins

we have done (feh) than for the

mitzvot we failed to do. Most

important of all, of course, are

the mitzvot we have actually done."

 

He continued, "Now, with your

marriage to Esther Tabachnik

and by your intimate embrace

of her, you will replace your

failure to enact Torah's premier

commandment (feh) with the

mitzvah of all mitzvot! Kinehora!

Mazel tov!"

 

 

NYPD BLUE

Julius Jaffe and Herman Fishman watched

NYPD Blue on television. Julius Jaffe said,

"Sipowitz must complete his tikkun, from

the sefirot of Gevurah to that of Chesed."

Herman Fishman said, "This is the reverse
of Abraham."

Julius Jaffe continued, "When his tropical

fish die, we can see struggle in the face

of Sipowitz."

Herman Fishman added, "Confucius

said the most important thing in life

is the expression on your face."

Julius Jaffe added, "No matter what

happened, Rav Zusha said, 'It is for

the best.'"

Herman Fishman added, "The younger

brother of Rav Zusha was Rav Elimelech."

 

"MY SIN IS ALWAYS BEFORE MY EYES"

David spoke before YHVH, "Why is not a blessing

concluded with my name, as it is with Abraham?"

The Holy One answered, "I have already tested

Abraham, and he stood erect before me." David

said, "Test me then, O YHVH!" -- Zohar

Julius Jaffe said, "Batsheva was the test and he

failed that test."

Herman Fishman said, "But Batsheva was his soulmate."

Julius Jaffe replied, with a teaching of Rabbi Yishma'el,

"'He ate her when she was unripe.' That is, she was

still married to Uriah the Hittite."

Herman Fishman said, "Oy."

Julius Jaffe continued, "But he passed the more

severe test of teshuvah, which is true repentance:

As he wrote, 'My sin is always before my eyes'
(Psalms 51:5) and further, 'Purge me with hyssop
and I shall be clean; Wash me and I shall be whiter
than snow' (Psalms 51:9), and still further, 'Create
me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast
spirit within me.'" (Psalms 51:12)

 

 

THE LIGHT AND THE VESSEL

Julius Jaffe said, "Rav Ashlag, elaborating

on teachings of Rav Isaac Luria, describes

desire as existing in two forms: desire for the

self alone (feh) and desire for the purpose

of sharing."

He continued, "YHVH has no desire for the
self alone. The only thing he 'wants' or 'needs' 
is a Vessel with which he can share his Light.
So he manifested a Vessel that embodied a
desire to receive -- a desire that he somehow

brought into being although it was foreign

to his own nature. Yet the Vessel was still
composed of God's essence in the same
way that a bowl made of ice remains

identical with water."

 

He went on, "Then there came a time --
and YHVA had certainly anticipated this --
that the Vessel, because it was composed
of God's essence of sharing, expressed its
own desire to share."

 

He continued, "Thereupon YHVH withdrew his
Light from pouring into the Vessel, and the
Vessel shattered into an infinite number of pieces,

or sparks, as the sages sages say."

.

Herman Fishman asked, "What happened

then?"

 

But Julius Jaffe wept and said, "Oy, I will

save that for another time."

Comments

[The Best American Poetry]

No matter what, it's for the best!
Wisdom!
Keine hora! -- DL